Did Marvel Change the Right Hero?
A lot has been made to some very apparent changes made to the upcoming character of Kamala Khan for her very own Disney+ series; which has led us to ask; did Marvel change the right hero?
Since early promotional material was shown for the upcoming Ms. Marvel series, fans had cautiously observed alterations to the beloved character of Kamala Khan.
Source: Marvel Studios
A fan-favorite hero due to her obsession with everything Marvel-related, part of what helped tell the story of Khan, and Ms. Marvel, was her very unique superpower, the power for her body’s matter to change into a pliable and manipulatable plastic-like substance.
It was something that, at the time of her creation, was already the long-standing power of one of the founding members of Marvel’s first family, Reed Richards’ Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic Four.
Photo: Marvel
With the two powers being incredibly similar, and with Fantastic Four set to bookend Marvel’s Phase Four slate, Ms. Marvel has made the decision to change the look and feel of the powers Kamala possesses
Many fans have been outspoken about the change, and their wish to see Kamala be true to her Marvel origin; which has led us to ask the question, did Marvel change the right hero?
Source: Marvel
The issue with Kamala’s power set is its similarity to Reed Richards, but couldn’t the argument be made that Kamala’s powers better speak to her progression as a character?
In Kamala Khan, there is the delicate balance of teenage life; a time of angst and the dilemma of trying to understand just who you are and who you are meant to be.
Photo: Marvel
The reason why the powers that were given to Ms. Marvel were so important where because of how they interacted with the character’s early moments; a power to turn limbs into plastic pliable material inst exactly as cool as being a human spider, or having razor claws protrude from your knuckle.
Khan was forced to reconcile the fact that her powers were a little weird, which was only made more interesting as a metaphor for the body dysmorphia that is so common in young women her age.
Source: Marvel
Reed was obviously the first man of plastic for the Marvel universe, and although he may have precedent in the history of Marvel lore, it makes more sense for a character who earned his powers from exposure to cosmic radiation to be given the chance that the MCU has given to Kamala.
In Reed, the MCU would have the smartest man in the universe now capable to manipulate cosmic energy to his will; he would be given the powers that Kamala has in the early promotional footage released for the series.
Source: Marvel
It could be easily explained, as Marvel comics Council of Reeds often depicts the hero having any number of cosmic or superpowered abilities; leaving it not out of the realm of possibilities for this incarnation to follow that same blueprint.
Either way, the dilemma was present, and Marvel was left with only two options as to which iconic and beloved her they were going to alter; there is, at least, a case to be made as to whether or not Marvel changed the right hero.
Source: Marvel Studios
